Live Chat is Temporarily Postponed Until Further Notice
Live Chat Has Returned New Now on Every Other Wednesday Night. The next scheduled Live Chat Session will be: Wednesday X/XX/XXXX at 9:00pm until 10:00pm Eastern Standard Time. This information will also be published in our forum newsletter. We hope to see you there!
Hello everyone,
As you may or may not be aware, we have an Online Chat feature built into this community.
Recently our community has made regular use of this chat feature to give people a chance to interact live with one another and get instant live help!
Use of Chat Rooms and Scheduling
Though the online chat feature is always available, there may not be anyone monitoring the rooms when you connect. This is why we will be scheduling times. I will be sending out an email to our community members with times - so be sure to register with us!
How to Connect and Use the Live Help / Chat Feature:
1. In the top left hand corner of our forum click "Go" and then "Chat Rooms". This will display a list of rooms available which currently includes only 1 chat room.
A. Hair Restoration Surgery Chat
To select a Chat Room you may also click here.
2. You MAY be asked to install an ActiveX Control so be sure that you have administrative rights on your computer.
3. You must also be registered to join our chat so be sure to register to join in the discussion!
4. You can choose to be in any or all of the chat rooms at once.
A. Do this by selecting your initial chat room (in step 1 above).
B. To join another chat room, click the drop down list labeled "Go to Room" and select another chat room. This will open another "tab" and you will have the ability to post/chat in one or all of the chat rooms.
Features of the Live Chat
Features of the live chat room include:
1. One Public chat room
2. A private chat feature.
3. The ability to whisper to individuals
4. The ability to use emoticons such as smiley faces to be more expressive
5. The ability to color code your own text in order to distinguish the members more readily
Live Chat Summaries
Live Chat Summary of 4/23/2008 with Dr. Mejia
Live Chat Summary of 4/2/2008
Live Chat Summary of 3/19/2008
Live Chat Summary of 3/5/2008 Featuring 3 Elite Hair Restoration Physicians
Live Chat Summary of 2/21/2008
Live Chat Summary of 11/27/2007
Live Chat Summary of 11/6/2007
Live Chat Summary of 10/30/2007
Live Chat Summary of 10/23/2007
Live Chat Summary of 10/9/2007
Live Chat Summary of 10/2/2007
Live Chat Summary of 9/25/2007
Live Chat Summary of 9/18/2007
Live Chat Summary of 9/11/2007 10:00pm EST
Live Chat Summary of 9/5/2007 10:00pm EST
Live Chat Transcripts
Live Chat Transcript from 9/25/2007 with Dr. Hasson and Dr. Epstein
I hope you will all join us for the next regularly scheduled chat. Stay tuned for details.
Feel free to post any questions you have on this thread. Please also come back to this thread for updated information.
Best Wishes,
Bill

This is a very common question - SHOCKLOSS - Hopefully this can help patients wanting answers to their questions regarding Shockloss. Below is a culmination of a few posts by posters on the topic of shockloss - Hope it helps - They have been copy/pasted from a variety of places so may not flow..
Shockloss
1.Shockloss is something that can be experienced when transplanting into existing hair although highly unpredictable. Shockloss occurs when the native hair is weak and isn't strong enough to resist the trauma that's going on around it. More often than not the hair that has gone into shock will grow back but after 3/4 months - after the resting phase
Hair that goes into shock and doesn't return is hair that was inevitably on its way out anyway and wasn't strong enough to return.
Increased trauma to a localised area will increase the chances of shockloss
Shockloss is unpredictable and there is no hard and fast rule to avoiding it - especially if you are transplanting into existing hair.
2. There are risk factors that either heighten or lessen someone's risk. Diffuse thinners seem more prone to shockloss than receders because the hair in a diffuse area is often less stable than that of a receder. Very often, a lot of the hair in a diffuse area is "on its last legs" and in the latter stages of the miniaturization process.
3. Shock loss tends to occur both in the recipient and in the donor areas as far as I know. It's a normal response to trauma to the scalp which is surgery. However, permanent shock loss, while it can also happen if the hair that was shocked was going to fall out anyway due to MPB, sucks and can be a sign of a bad HT.
4. Any time hair is transplanted in between or around existing natural hair, there is a risk of temporary "shock loss" or telogen effluvium. This is even more common in women, but is almost always temporary. Only follicles that are transected (which won't happen in the hands of a skilled physician) or miniaturized hairs on their way out anyway may be permanently shocked.
5. An unfortunate possibility in hair transplantation is a phenomenon known as shock loss. This is mostly a temporary condition where native hairs are ???shocked??? due to trauma of the scalp during hair transplantation surgery, creating an additional but mostly temporary hair loss condition. Though nobody likes to experience this, fortunately, this is normal.
Shockloss can occur both in the donor and recipient area a few weeks to a few months after having hair transplantation surgery. There are two forms of shockloss, temporary and permanent.
Permanent shockloss, though rare, can occur in one of two ways:
The physician transects existing hair follicles (the risk is significantly lessened in the hands of a skilled physician; however, it is risky if you are in the hands of a clinic using older technology, using larger instruments to make incisions and inserting plugs, mini-grafts, or micro-grafts).
It can occur to hairs that have entered the miniaturization process??¦but these hairs would have fallen out eventually anyway. This is why getting on medication such as Propecia (Finasteride) is very important, to hopefully strengthen existing hairs and turn miniaturized hairs back into healthy hairs.
Temporary shockloss is more common and seemingly unpredictable - varying from person to person. In other words, there is no pattern or understood reason why some patients experience it drastically and others do not. Temporary shockloss occurs due to scalp trauma from surgery. But within several months, the hair grows back.
There are ways, however that temporary OR permanent shockloss can be minimized.
Using ultra refined follicular unit transplantation, the recipient incisions are much smaller and refined, using custom cut blades as small as .6 mm which causes less trauma to the scalp. This in itself can mimimize shockloss to the recipient area.
Conservative placement around existing hairs without super dense packing can also minimize shockloss to an existing area.
Finasteride, also, is known to help minimize the risk of shockloss.
I might add that if any of the three listed items above are missing, the risk for shockloss increases.
6. Shockloss is unpredictable, however, Propecia since it can strengthen hairs that would have otherwise been on their way out, can make it more "shock" resistant. It is not a definite...but it can help. At the very least, it helps minimize permanent shock loss.
7. Keep in mind that the risk of permanent shock loss only exists for native hair that is currently in a weakened state due to hair miniaturization (or if the native hair follicles are transected, but this is rare in the hands of a qualified surgeon). This means that this hair would have eventually fallen out and leave you bald anyway. Temporary shock may occur due to scalp trauma but will return.
8. Shock Loss Shed - affects native hair - likely to be noticed within the first month of your HT. Sometimes experienced around donor area. More evident if you don't shave down for HT...IMO. The may or may not return. I had some with each HT. I noticed for HT #2 that shocked native hair started to return at the 2 month 1 week time period. I could tell the difference between it and HT hair as the shocked native hair came in coarse like beard stubble versus HT new growth being very fine.
9. Shockloss is not losing the transplanted hair. Shock loss is when you lose the pre existing hair in the transplanted area.
10. If you make it to 4 weeks post op, then more than likely you will not have shock loss.
11. Shock loss also has a great deal to do with the skill of the surgeon and trauma to the scalp.
12. There is a much higher chance of shockloss with increased tension. You can still get shockloss simply from the surgical trauma induced. Other factors include trauma to underlying vessels arteries with reduction of blood supply, infection, wound dehiscence, hematoma formation.
Shock Loss can be as a result of the following:Ricardo Mejia MD
1. Telogen Effluvium: this is a physiologic process which is multifactorial and can affect "weak" minituarized hairs as well as good terminal hairs as well. Telogen effluvium is a reactive process caused by a metabolic or hormonal stress or by medications. Readers need to understand the hair growth cycle in order to understand telogen effluvium. All hair has a growth phase, termed anagen, and a resting phase, telogen. Catagen is an intermediate stage between the two which lasts only a couple of weeks. On the scalp, anagen lasts approximately 3 years, while telogen lasts approx. 3 months. There can be wide variation in time with patients. During telogen, the resting hair remains in the follicle until it is pushed out by growth of a new anagen hair. This process occurs independent of hair transplant surgery. It may also occur as a result of surgical trauma. What is concerning to patients is looking thinner or losing hair after a hair transplant. This is temporary and the hairs will regrow. This type of shock loss is not permanent except for the minituarized hair on its last cycle.
2. Iatrogenic or Doctor induced during hair transplant surgery via transection of the hair shaft during creation of the recipient sites. This is surgical trauma. In this case the hair shaft will fall out immediately in some cases or as early as a month after surgery. It is possible if the hair shaft is cut, the hair follicle will continue to grow in anagen phase without being shifted into a telogen stage. Consequently not all hairs that are surgically traumatized go into telogen. However, patients will lose hair and can look thinner after surgery. Obviously this is of most concern in men and women who have hair and we are transplanting around existing native hairs or repeat transplant procedures. This type of shock loss is not permanent.
3. Shock loss due to apparent loss of hair. In general, during most consultations with patients with existing native hair and in women especially, they are concerned about the apparent loss of hair or thinness after surgery. Doctors explain the above possible risks. If you had your 4th procedure and left your hair intact and not shaven and subsequently in the next 1-3 months lost everything in the recipient site, I would assume you would say you experienced 100% shock loss either due to telogen effluvium and or Iatrogenic. Fortunately, I have never heard of this case happening, but the hairs will regrow. If you shave your head in anticipation of a surgery, you have a 100% sudden hair loss. You will not see any apparent loss of hair in the next 1-3 months of surgery because you have altered the equation and removed the visible factor to evaluate shock loss or not. You may still experience the same telogen or iatrogenic shock loss but there will be nothing to show. For many patients, having to shave their head completely is a big shock and if you shave 100% of the recipient site, it is 100% hair loss to the patient whether or not any follicles truly experienced iatrogenic and or telogen following the transplant.
4. Permanent Shock Loss as a result of invivo follicle surgical trauma. I have not experienced this in my practice and do not believe it is a big factor based on the studies that have been performed previously. If you cut a hair follicle with any instrument ultra refined or not, you are still transecting the hair follicle. IF this was a real problem, I would expect clinics that are doing 4000-6000 grafts with high dense packing in native hairs to experience more problems. As of yet, we have been getting very good growth and results. Keep in mind the worse case scenario is taking a hair follicle out of the body, crushing the bulb and cutting the bulb directly and reimplanting it into the scalp. In some of the studies that have been done, the hairs still grow although perhaps not as good quality. The probability of permanent shock loss in the right hands is extremely rare. Perhaps some of the consultants or other physicians will comment whether they have experienced many cases of permanent shock loss .
5. Vascular Blood supply. The use of ultra refined tools and other techniques that have helped minimize trauma to the vascular supply can minimize permanent hair loss. This is a separate factor that is independent of transection of hair follicles. There have been cases of poor growth due to the underlying damage to the vascular blood supply. This is a more critical issue than transection of the hair follicle itself. In this case, patients can experience hair loss and possibly permanent if the underlying blood supply has been badly compromised by poor technique. This is a whole separate issue of poor growth rather than shock loss due to direct damage of the hair bulb itself.
Ricardo Mejia MD
The area below was copied from "calling all docs Diffuse thinners"
quote:
Keep in mind that the risk of permanent shock loss only exists for native hair that is currently in a weakened state due to hair miniaturization (or if the native hair follicles are transected, but this is rare in the hands of a qualified surgeon). This means that this hair would have eventually fallen out and leave you bald anyway. Temporary shock may occur due to scalp trauma but will return.
A few points I would like to clarify.
I do not believe there is "permanent" hair loss form transection of hair follicles in the scalp. There is Iatgrogenic or doctor induced hair loss when the hair shaft is cut below the scalp, and falls out, but it will regrow. This is not strictly due to poor placement. There are other factors involved. I am not aware of any studies that have proven permanent hair loss. You may recall our previous thread discussing this very issue. I would recommend readers review this carefully.
Transection risk with megasessions and shock loss
"shock loss" can have many definitions as I have explained in the thread above. Most patients view it as the apparent loss of hair density after a procedure in existing native hairs that results in a thinner look usually within three months after a transplant. In general, the hairs will regrow as I have explained in my other thread. For all hair transplant practices that shave the recipient site, you are getting 100% immediate shock loss. The hairs are gone visually! For all practical purposes, can not tell whether you really experienced true "shock loss" or not because the hairs are no longer there. Therefore it is a moot point in practices that shave the recipient site. MOst of my professional patients do not want that type experience, which is why I do not always do it, and work around the native hairs.
"shock loss" is a lay term for telogen effluvium which can be multifactorial and a result of the stress from surgery, antibiotics, postoperative illnesses, medications, weight loss diet etc. Therefore it is not strictly due to trauma or poor placement. This type of shock loss and Itrogenic shock loss can affect miniaturized and terminal hairs equally. I am not aware of any study that states Shock loss ONLY preferentially affects only the weak minituarized hair. It is probale and perhaps Dr. Beener has added insight from his years of research activity in this field. However, I see lots of patients with telogen effluvium and they are loosing good terminal hairs not just minituarized weak ones. I agree with Dr. Beener, It is true if a weak minituarized hair was on its last leg and was "shocked" out, it will not regrow.
WHen transplanting at higher densities within existing hairs and with shaven recipient sites, there is a higher risk of transection of the hair follicles, especially if you are using a multibladed handle which makes several recipient incisions sites at the same time and you are doing it fast. It is a lot harder to try to align all the blades to be perfectly parallel to the hairs of varying densities, and the exit angle of the hair is not always the same under the epidermis. If you shave the recipient site very close with no superficial hair, you can not tell very well what the exit angle is and thus even harder or impossible to avoid native hairs with multibladed recipient site handles, especially in native hairs with pretty good density such as early diffuse thinners. I use a single bladed recipient handle to maneuver within existing hairs to minimize the possibility of Iatrogenic trauma. Spex is right, it is unpredictable. The good news, dakota is "permanent" shock loss is a term that is used too loosely. Review the previous thread. We need to understand and define the multitude of factors involved and the defintions and type of shock loss one is referring to. In summary, the hairs will regrow even if doctor tansected without a permanent loss and even hairs lost due to the myriad of factors with telogen effluvium, with the exception of the minituarized hair on its last leg. There is a higher risk of transection in native hairs with higher density recipient sites and high dense packing sessions, yet they are not permanently damaged.

I've struggled with male pattern baldness ever since I graduated high school. It started off strong and tapered off in the last few years into more of a gradual process. The photos below will show you how far it has come in the last decade.
I will also be posting new videos and blogs each month to document my progress to encourage or discourage anyone from making the plunge that I did.
I hope this will help you.
Andrew

This gentleman presented to us with an unhappy result of a hair transplant from seven years prior. We proceeded to give him 1900 grafts with the FUT procedure and trichophytic closure. He continues with his maintenance of Finasteride and Rogaine and couldn't be happier with his outcome.

This gentleman is currently 53 year old. His goal was to increase his density as he has a family history of Class 6 balding. He was following a similar pattern of progression and after two procedures of 4,042 grafts and eight years later, he is still maintaining his density. The patient is extremely happy with his results.

This 33 year old young professional male presented to Dr. Mejia wanting to fill in the areas that had thinned out. He underwent 2229 grafts with the FUT method and is delighted with his results. He is much more confident and feels he has regained his youth. He continues to maintain with Propecia and Rogaine to assure his new hair and improved appearance.

This 55 year old patient presented to us with Female Pattern Hair loss. Her request was to increase her hair volume and therefore reducing the "see through"" effect to her scalp. The FUT procedure or strip method was completed with 1990 grafts and the patient is pleased with her outcome. She will continue her maintenance of Finasteride and Rogaine 5% to safeguard her investment and prevent any further hair loss.

Our 70 year old client came to us desiring a denser head of hair, not wanting the "see through" look. Dr. Mejia performed an FUT procedure with a trichophytic closure, placing 2,806 grafts. The client is very pleased with his outcome and the noticeable improvement.

This 44 year old gentleman presented to us with the male pattern baldness that had been plaguing him for years. His bald spot had continued to grow and he was self conscious in regards to not wanting to do the "comb over" at his age. Dr. Mejia transplanted via the strip method 2,495 grafts into the crown area as well as towards the frontal scalp. This increased the patients density much to his satisfaction and created the fuller head of hair he was looking for.

This 66 year old gentleman wanted to freshen things up and desired a more youthful appearance. With 1697 grafts in place via the fut strip method, the patient is very happy and feels younger when he looks in the mirror.

I agree with Bill & Dr. Mejia,
The Anesthetic is always a risk. Didn't Kanye West's mom die during cosmetic surgery, in California as a result of general anesthesia in combination with underlying issues heart issues?
Anyway, I seem to remember that in my case, my surgeon (Dr Mohebi) only used local anesthesia. That's a big difference... unless I was knocked out for a while and don't remember some of it.. It just seems like I was awake for a lot of the surgery time, watching movies and eating the kabobs they ordered for me.

California I vaguely remember hearing about this. I lik what Dr. Mejia, recommended by our community had to say. I've pasted it below for everyone's reference...
----
This case is very interesting. It is difficult to interpret the facts of a case or jump to conclusions without in depth understanding of this persons medical history knowledge and details of the case other than what is reported.
"A 52-year-old Southern California man who died during a routine hair transplant procedure was administered three times the normal dosage of lidocaine, a local anesthetic, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his widow.... Within an hour of going in he was dead."
While it APPEARS and is written the patient had an overdose, we really do not know what happened. As I illustrated in my post above, I myself could have been victim to an alleged lawsuit if my patient decided to wait an extra hour or two to have his heart attack.
However, let us look at what is reported.
1. The death occured within an hour of arriving at the clinic. From all of you who have had a hair transplant, how many of you recall being anesthetized that quickly. Usually, in my office, we have another consult to review the plan, mark the areas, cut and shave the appropriate areas of hair , take photos. By the time we are ready to go depending on patient questions etc, it could take an extra 30 min to one hour before anesthesia.
2. Within the first hour, most hair transplant physicians are anesthetizing only the donor area and removing the donor area.
3. Three times the normal dose of lidocaine:... hhmm. Physicians are aware of what the maximum limit is. Generally, it is approx 25 ml of 2% lidocaine with epinephrine or 50 ml of 1% lidocaine with epi or even more volume if you are using diluted tumescent type solutions. Assuming you used a concentrated solution, that would be 75 ml of 2% lidocaine to be administered in the first 1 hour. This is a huge amount especially since the first part of the procedure is to anesthetize the donor area. If this were true, yes there is a case for malpractice. But it does not make sense from a physicians standpoint in the first hour. If it was a long 12-hour megasession, maybe. . Generally most physicians use volumes in the order of 6-12 ml of diluted solutions 1% or less to anesthetize the donor area. Some do use volumes of 50 to 100 ml of saline or salt water to super tumesce the donor area. .If the allegations are correct, a serious error had to have occurred where 2% lidocaine was used instead of saline and they were supertumescing the donor area. This is the only way I can conceivably see this error from occurring and it is hard to imagine. Most physicians have protocols in place to prevent fatal errors.
It is unfortunate this happened irrespective of the cause or error. It is important to recognize that any procedure carries risks. Chucky, we do have emergency protocols should a patient have a bad reaction other than just dialing 911. In my office,we do have a "crash cart", automatic defribillator, oxygen and I am trained in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Measures. Most physicians do the same and at our conferences we do review emergency protocols.
Ricardo Mejia MD, FAAD
Hair Transplant Network Physician
Jupiter FL

Our 55 year old client came to Dr. Mejia wanting a more youthful appearance. His primary concern was the frontal hairline and crown. Two FUT procedures with a trichophytic closure and 5,301 grafts were placed. While the patient declines any maintenance of Rogaine and Propecia, he is completely satisfied with his younger appearance.

This patient presented to us with the issue of wanting more density on top and less "see through". With 917 grafts in place, the patient is thrilled with his new look and couldn't be happier. His outlook has improved tremendously and is even contemplating a second procedure.

This 41 year old male came to our office with male pattern baldness and had been on Propecia for a few years. He had decided he was ready to move forward with a transplantation that would yield him the results he had been looking for. With a consultation that educated him on the process as well as advisement on future maintenance that would still require Propecia and Rogaine, he booked his surgery. The transplantation gave him 3,151 grafts and very satisfied results. He is very happy and would certainly do it again.

You are invited to attend a live event with Dr. Mejia and Dr. Oz at the Gardens Mall, March 29, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Dr. Mejia is a dermatologist discussing your hair loss and skin health. Come view our live patients who had hair transplantation. If you would like further details please email me and I will send them to you at vip@jupiterderm.com

This 74 year old patient presented to us as an outgoing, very active male who wanted to step up his appearance since he was still working. His main concern was the crown, therefore Dr. Mejia transplanted 1,425 grafts to fill in the bald spot that had formed. The patient returned for his follow ups, and with the help of Rogaine 5% and Propecia, has maintained his current look and couldn't feel more confident. He is very pleased with his results and with the level of care and professionalism provided to him by Dr. Mejia and his staff.

This gentleman presented to us with a typical case of advanced male pattern baldness. He was 59 at the time and desired a full head of hair. The first transplant was performed and 3,071 grafts were placed. The second and third procedures transplanted 1,819 and 1,609 grafts respectively for a total of 6,499 grafts. This took place over the course of four years and the patient couldn't be happier. Not one person has ever asked where he got his hair from, not even his kids. He is maintaining with finasteride and rogaine daily and feels more confident in his business and his daily personal life.

This client is a successful businessman of 60 years old. He is a faithful user of Rogaine and Finasteride and wanted to improve his frontal hairline. Dr. Mejia consulted with him and using the FUT method 2512 grafts were placed. A trichophytic closure was used therefore leaving minimal scaring in the donor area. The patient looks and feels years younger and has continued with his maintenance of Rogaine and Finasteride. The patient is very happy and wishes he hadn't waited so long to do the surgery!

This patient presented to us as a 26 year old male unhappy with a previous hair restoration surgery. The history of this surgery is unknown. However, the unnatural hairline and lack of density behind it was not the result he was looking for. Dr. Mejia performed an FUT hair transplant on the patient with 2239 grafts. The patients before and after pictures are four years apart and the patient is very happy now that he has the natural hair line and density he had originally desired. The patient continues his maintenance with Rogaine 5% and now has the confidence as a young professional to pursue his professional and personal goals.

This client is a 53 y.o. Male who had a history of 15 plus years of hair loss with no improvement with rogaine. After reviewing the patients expectations a hair transplant surgery was performed in 2008 with 3093 grafts placed via fut. The after photo is taken two years later with no maintenance involved (rogaine, propecia,etc.) the patient was recently in for follow up and states "we did an excellent job and he is very pleased with his outcome".